The field of the present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for reading optical data, and in particular, to such systems and methods capable of generating different illumination patterns for improved data reading processes.
Optical codes, such as barcodes and other machine-readable indicia, appear in a variety of applications. For example, optical codes can be used to identify a class of objects (e.g., merchandise) or unique items (e.g., patents). As a result, optical codes are found on a wide variety of objects, such as retail goods, company assets, and documents. Typically, the optical codes are placed on items and read as the items arrive or as they are sold to help track production at manufacturing facilities or inventory at stores. Optical codes come in a variety of forms, such as: linear barcodes (e.g., UPC code), 2D codes including stacked barcodes (e.g., PDF-417 code), and matrix codes (e.g., Datamatrix code, QR code, or Maxicode). Typically, in a grocery or retail establishment, such optical codes are often printed on tags or stickers affixed to the item and/or printed directly on the item packaging.
However, for many applications, it may be challenging to use printed tags or labels, such as for items that need to pass through harsh testing processing (e.g., chemicals, agents, thermal cycles, oil, moisture, etc.), or items that need continuous tracking for extended periods of time (e.g., the product lifecycle), or for small items that are difficult to label. In these cases, a printed label may be lost, damaged, or otherwise altered, thereby detrimentally affecting the label reading and decoding process.
To address these challenges, a marking technique known as direct part marking (DPM) has been developed to permanently imprint, etch, mold, or otherwise directly mark an item, product, or component with a machine-readable code, such as Data Matrix, QR codes, other high-density codes, or one-dimensional optical codes. Typically, a DPM code is comprised of multiple elements that are directly marked on an exterior surface of an item, such as a metal, wood, or plastic item. The optical codes may be captured and processed from the marked product using an imaging data reader.
Despite the ability to precisely control the marking process, one challenge with DPM technology is that DPM codes are often difficult to read because the surfaces and/or textures on which the DPM codes are marked may present reflectivity issues and/or provide low and inconsistent contrast. Accordingly, DPM data readers typically have a multi-faceted illumination system capable of providing sufficient illumination for handling DPM codes on a variety of surfaces, while minimizing specular reflection or other issues. The present inventors have identified a need for an improved and streamlined illumination system capable of providing proper illumination to allow a data reader to read DPM codes. Additional aspects and advantages of such data reading systems will be apparent from the following detailed description of example embodiments, which proceed with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Understanding that the drawings depict only certain embodiments and are not, therefore, to be considered limiting in nature, these embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with reference to the drawings.